hold on, we're sinking
by flubi
Summary: Pacific Rim AU. Tsuna doesn't know if he could let someone in his head, but it's the only way to make sure he doesn't lose the ones he loves.
1. death of an innocent

Tsuna always looked up to Kyoko, and Kyoko always looked up to Tsuna. Each found a strength in the other that they could only hope to achieve one day. Neither of them knew that, and that was the most ironic part of their story. And so they both sat in silence, wishing and wanting to be friends with the other.

They didn't become friends. At least not for a while they didn't. The self imposed social hierarchy in Namimori prevented him from even trying without being beat up behind the school. Hibari always managed to find out when it happened, and 'bit him to death for being a pathetic Herbivore'. Hibari's jacket always managed to flap like there was a wind (there never was, the area he was in prevented any wind, and Hibari never moved that fast. Maybe the wind was intimidated by him?) as he walked away. Not long after that time, he stopped trying to talk to Kyoko.

But it wouldn't be the last time he would see (or be beaten up by) Hibari.

A few years later, the first kaiju made landfall in San Francisco, and everything changed. Most brushed it off as a one time thing, but the smarter people knew it was only the beginning. Many tried to deny it had actually happen, and not a reality that would continue to get worse and worse until it wasn't. But that is a time that wouldn't come for a while. Not without many losses.

The reality of the situations wouldn't affect Namimori until a Kaiju made fall on Japan, and destroyed Namimori on its path of destruction. Killing many and putting one Sawada Nana in a coma, leaving a seventeen year old Sawada Tsunayoshi to take care of his three adopted siblings. But that only lasted for three months then the Hibari Clan took him in as a favor to Nana (she was the Hibari Matriarch's sky for some odd reason) after she was put in a coma by the kaiju named Ken.


	2. pick the flesh from your teeth

"Please train me! I have to get stronger, and become a Jeager pilot! I-I'll do anything!"

Tsuna groveled at Kyouya Hibari's feet. Hibari wasn't the least bit pleased, but he saw a chance. A willing chew toy with potential.

Make no mistake, Hibari wasn't doing this out of kindness, instead for entertainment. Either the boy would measure up, or he'd have another punching bag. Might as well be useful.

"Hn. We start now." Hibari launched himself at the startled boy.

* * *

"Hiee! Hibari, you can't attack me right out of the shower!" Tsuna struggled to dodge the tonfa and keep his towel up. Hibari had taken to attacking anywhere, anytime, and in any state of dress.

Tsuna had gained quite the rainbow of bruises across his body over the past few weeks. But never anything worse than a bruised rib. Hibari wanted his chew toy able to fight back.

He shrieked when his inattention earned him a smack to the temple. Tsuna's vision swam, he barely dodged the next strike. Steeling his nerves, metaphorically and literally, he threw himself into the fight.

He walked away from the fight with another loss, but Hibari said 'wao'. Tsuna counted that as a win.

* * *

"Tsu-nii! Hibari-obaa-san said we could go visit kaa-chan today!" Fuuta tackled his knees and brought him down. The other two followed Fuuta's lead and dog piled Tsuna. Tsuna wheezed when Lambo started jumping.

"-ambo! Lam-Lambo that's enough!"Tsuna wheezed out. I-pin caught on that he was hurting Tsuna and scolded Lambo in fast-paced chinese. Lambo somehow able to keep up and rebuke everything I-pin said.

"Tsu-nii, can we go see kaa-chan? Please?" Fuuta ignored the other two. He was the child most affected by kaa-san's absence. Having lived on the streets until kaa-san scooped him up and brought him home. The other two had come from orphanages and at least had some reference for a home.

"We'll go, Fuuta-kun. I need to bring her more flowers." Tsuna ruffle Fuuta's hair and hugged him.

* * *

Tsuna lingered in the doorway and watched the three children scramble onto kaa-san's bed. They all talked to her, telling her about their days, who threw a mud pie at who and how the current game of tag was going. That Tsuna wanted to become a Jeager pilot and Hibari was beating him up all the time.

Tsuna winced at that, but let them have their moment. Tsuna made visits to kaa-san every three days. The children had only been able to see her once, right after she had been hospitalized. That was nearly a month ago.

The doglike Kaiju, Ken, had torn many things to shreds.


	3. guts and blood

Tsuna bared his teeth at Hibari. Blood dribbled down his chin and splattered on the floor. They both launched at each other.

They became a tangle of limbs, fighting to find some purchase, an upper hand, just something they could take advantage of. It was hard, in the year that Hibari had trained him, he improved by leaps and bounds. Enough to match Hibari.

But not enough to get the upper hand this time. Tsuna's hand slipped free and Hibari slid his tonfa up into his jaw.

Tsuna leaned back and spit more blood. Then tightened his grip on Hibari's other tonfa. Until his hands loosened and dropped it. Tsuna snatched it up and jumped away.

He didn't need to use it, just handicap Hibari. Hibari turned his glare towards him. That was all the warning Tsuna got.

Tsuna launched himself back in a series of flips. He slipped the tonfa into his waistband and blocked the one in Hibari's hand. Tsuna pushed it away and leaned into Hibari's space. Hibari instinctively leaned away and Tsuna pursued.

The tides changed when Tsuna stumbled. Hibari took the lead and backed him into a corner. The tonfa put against Tsuna's neck and the other slipped from his waistband.

"Close, Omnivore." Hibari applied pressure then abruptly pulled away.

"You're ready." Hibari swept out of the room, leaving Tsuna panting in the corner. He slid to the floor and laughed.

"Soon, kaa-san, soon."


	4. hold your head above (murky) water

Applying to the PPDC was frighteningly easy. Getting accepted was easier, having met all the requirements and more. Tsuna almost didn't believe it.

Dame-Tsuna, huh?

* * *

Saying goodbye to his siblings was hard, but his ambitions were too high. They would be well taken care of, under the care of the Hibari Matriarch.

He wasn't too concerned for their safety though. Everyone knew a Kaiju didn't hit the same place twice. Namimori was the safest place for them. One of the first places the Jeagers had been deployed, the first place to have a Kaiju taken down without a nuke.

They would be safe. He would make it so.

* * *

When he left Namimori, he didn't expect to see any familiar faces. Statistically speaking, places hit by Kaiju had a higher number of people willing to fight back. 57% of the PPDC work force was made up of people who had lived through a kaiju attack or were within 150 miles of it.

He really should've, but seeing the face of one Kyoko Sasagawa was a punch to his gut.

Tsuna could barely believe it when found out Kyoko wanted to become a pilot too. She just didn't look like the type. Initially.

Once he'd spoken to her he'd learned that she came here to fight for her dead brother. In another life, she may have wanted her brother to not fight at all, but that was because of his unquenchable thirst for adrenaline and pain. Always outweighed her worry that he would get hurt.

She had worried, just not that he'd be hurt. No, she was worried that once he'd gotten a taste he wouldn't stop and she'd never see him again.

At least he wouldn't be able to do that anymore, was a recurring bitter thought.

* * *

 **A/N: should i make the platonic R27, romantic? i want to focus on their bond as partners, co-pilots, etc but i can easily make it more with how i'm going to develop this. but first, BFFs kyoko and tsuna.**


	5. let it wash away

It was a well known fact, that if you didn't make it as a pilot, you could still go into another field. If you held promise.

Fon, the kwoon room overseer reminded him of this every chance he got. Tsuna may not be the most academically talented, but there was something that just lit up in him when he stepped onto the floor. He captivated others with just a flick of the bo. Drawing in others on their break. His influence on the floor was incredible.

The training with Hibari payed off in ways he didn't expect. Yes, he had a decent basis to build upon, but he was also leaps and bonds above the others. All except one.

Sasagawa Kyoko had little in the ways of experience, but she more than made up for it with raw talent and pure tenacity. Although Kyoko hadn't quite caught up with him yet, she was on her way. He couldn't wait for that day.

* * *

Tsuna was surprised he wasn't being bullied here. But not so much. He was still dorky and clumsy. His skill in tactics and fighting seemed to be enough to make him decent here.

When people saw him in the hallways they would send him a smile instead of frown. Things were pretty different from Namimori.

* * *

Clack.

Tsuna swung his bo, smashing it against Kyoko's. She grinned in a way that was so reminiscent of her brother he faltered a little bit. It gave her the opportunity to sweep his feet out from underneath him.

Kyoko's bo was at his throat when he opened his eyes. And Kyoko was grinning with pride, sweat dripping down her face. He smiled softly and nudged her bo out of the way.

"That was good." Tsuna dusted his pants off and grabbed his bo. "I'm gonna have to watch out for that."

"Again?" Kyoko asked with all the eagerness of a puppy. It was cute.

"Yeah, let's do it."

* * *

 **please leave a review?**


	6. inside the fire

Tsuna and Kyoko quickly climb the ranks. Jumping from initiate, to cadet, to junior ranger. Using their drift compatibility and fighting prowess to jump ahead their classmates.

* * *

There's a break through in jaeger technology. But it comes at a price.

The mafia is revealed to the world.

* * *

Immediately after the mafia is outed, the ninth don of the Vongola family rises through the ranks to become the Marshall of China's biggest shatter dome. From there, he drags the jaeger program through the process of integrating what the mafia world calls Dying Will Flames.

It is slow going, but the prototype jaegers are better than their nuclear powered counterparts. Only complication is, is that it needs two powerful, compatible flame users to operate.

Flame users are already rare, adding in that requirement, only the mafia can pilot them.

* * *

Tsuna and Kyoko are the only two to endure their training and make it all the way to the final round. From there, they are pitted against teams from other shatter domes to determine who will get their jaeger first.

But like all prospective rangers, their flames are woken up.

They both go into it not expecting anything. After all, they're just two abnormally ambitious people from a small town in Japan. But when they pop the dying will pills into their mouths and wait the allotted time, everyone's surprised.

Tsuna is a pure sky and Kyoko is dual mist and sun user. They cast the brightest flames anyone has seen since the last Arcobaleno generation.

They're put first on the list for the next Dying Will jaeger.

* * *

 **264 words. mafia time! plz let me know if you guys have questions, i'm still fleshing out this universe. wanna take a stab at what their jeager is going to be called? or who some of the jaeger pilots will be?**


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